CARSON, Calif. (Sunday, Sept. 15, 2013) – Led by a pair of two-goal performances by Tristan Bowen and Jorge Villafaña, Chivas USA defeated the Portland Timbers Sunday morning, 4-1, in Reserve League play at the StubHub Center’s University Field 2. The Red-and-White went up two-nil on Bowen’s brace early in the second half. Portland responded by cutting the lead in half on forward Ryan Johnson’s score, but the Goats were able to take advantage of playing a man up and pulled away on Villafaña’s back-to-back scores in the second half.

The sides came out fast from the opening whistle looking to get into spaces in the attacking third. Portland had the match’s first threat at opening the score on Ben Zemanski’s strike from about 18 yards out. The midfielder’s shot was directed toward the upper left corner of the net, but goalkeeper Tim Melia was able to get a hand on the shot to deny the threat.

Chivas responded two minutes later with their first serious threat at goal when Gabriel Farfan chipped a pass over the top and into the box to Carlo Chueca, who worked the ball and tried to sneak it inside the near post. But Portland keeper Milos Kocic turned the shot away. The Rojiblancos, however, would not be denied in the 37th minute as Bowen put the Goats up a goal with his strike from the right wing inside the box that Kocic was unable to control.

The sides continued to exchange promising looks in the attacking third and battling for ball possession in the fast-paced match, but that competitiveness ended up costing the visitors, as defender Alvas Powell was sent off in the 41st minute with a straight red for his challenge on a fifty-fifty ball. Playing a goal and a man up, the Goats were able to capitalize on the advantage and doubled their lead in the 48th minute when Farfan played a chip to Bowen inside the box, where the attacker first-timed his shot past Kocic.

The Timbers continued to push their attackers forward and pulled one back despite playing a man down in the 55th minute when Johnson got on the end of a cross from the right side of the box sent in by Zemanski for the tap-in.

Chivas reclaimed the two-goal lead in the 70th minute when Jose Manuel Rivera threaded a pass into the box to Bowen, who worked the ball deep into the area and crossed it to a cutting Villafaña who calmly placed it into the onion bag to put the home side up 3-1.

Portland continued to try and mount the comeback by bringing on their first sub, academy product Niko DeVera, who wasting little time in getting his teammates into dangerous spots. The left back sent a ball over the top to Johnson, who got off a shot on frame that was kept out by Melia’s diving save to his right. The Timbers called on two more subs in search of narrowing the score, but the comeback fell short.

In the 82nd minute, Melia sent a goal kick over the top into the final third, which was deflected by a Portland defender and found Villafaña as he made his run near the box. Villafaña brought the ball down and placed it passed Kocic’s left to put the exclamation point on the match and record his brace.

Chivas USA now return to regular-season competition when they travel to the Lone Star State to battle Eastern Conference side the Houston Dynamo on Saturday, Sept. 21, at BBVA Compass Stadium. The match will mark the only meeting between the clubs this season beginning at 5:30 p.m. (PT) and will be televised in English on KDOC-TV and in Spanish on MundoFOX 22. The game can also be heard in Spanish on W Radio 690 AM. For more information visit cdchivasusa.com and follow us on Twitter @cdchivasusa and Facebook.com/chivasusa.